0.0.1 Terrapene ornata luteola hatchling
Buergeria-robusta9.jpg
Buergeria-robusta7.jpg
Zamenis longissimus
0.0.1 Terrapene ornata luteola hatchling
Pastel Highway female
Pastel Highway female
1.1 Terrapene ornata luteola
NMTs

0.0.1 Terrapene ornata luteola hatchling

This little one hatched in the last couple of days and emerged from the nest this afternoon. They usually spend the winter in the nest, emerging in the spring, but this one had enough of nest life, I guess. It's still egg shaped, 😆
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NMTs
Ultum4Spiderz said:
Spectacular little turtle 🐢!!! how often do they actually Hatch early?
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The eggs are laid in early to mid-June, and they always hatch in September/October. It's usually cold enough by the time they hatch that they opt to stay buried in the nest until it warms up in the spring, when they emerge around April. If it stays warm later, like it has this year, they will come out of the nest in the fall, but will always dig back in to ride out the colder months. I don't always find them when they come out in the fall, so not sure exactly how often it happens, but I'd say maybe every 3 or 4 years when it is unseasonably warm in the fall (like it has been this year - it was in the 90's this week).
 
Marten
Precocious little creature, ahead of its time. Couldn't keep the cuteness hidden from the world any longer.
 
Smotzer
What an adorable little pearl! I think its amazing you've had some of these in your family for generations!
 
NMTs
Smotzer said:
What an adorable little pearl! I think its amazing you've had some of these in your family for generations!
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It is, and this little one might belong to my grandkids or even great grandkids someday - such long-lived creatures!
 
viper69
NMTs said:
It is, and this little one might belong to my grandkids or even great grandkids someday - such long-lived creatures!
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I was going to mention that having owned a one of the box species. Hatch one, and it’s at least a 3 generation pet depending on your age etc as you know.

Do premee’s survival rate match up with those that aren’t?

What’s the little one eating?
 
NMTs
viper69 said:
Do premee’s survival rate match up with those that aren’t?

What’s the little one eating?
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Unfortunately, if I hadn't found this little one it would almost certainly have died over the winter. I would estimate that 10% or less of the hatchlings that emerge in the fall survive the first winter.

I don't bring any of my turtles in for the winter - I let them all (including hatchlings) burrow and brumate outdoors, because it can be difficult to get them to do it again if they've experienced a winter indoors. Gets their biological clocks all screwed up, I guess. As I tell people, you can always bring an outdoor turtle inside, but you can almost never transition an indoor turtle to living exclusively outdoors. That said, I will put this little one in my growout area and encourage it to burrow. Should that not work, I'll put it in a temporary enclosure and insulate it, then put it in a cool, dark place for the winter (my shed). I've done this artifical brumation successfully before, but it's always a last resort and sometimes they still don't make it.

As for feeding, I won't offer any food to it until spring. It is still using up the nutrients delivered from the yolk, and all it needs to survive now is a little water (interesting fact, they can absorb water through their anus, so when brumating in a nest/burrow, they can stay hydrated without actually drinking). They aren't even interested in eating when they are this newly hatched. Once spring rolls around they get protein rich feeders like wax worms, black fly larvae, and meal worms, along with whatever goodies they find in their enclosures (like isopods and roach nymphs). After the first few months of eating I will start offering fruits and veggies, but they're not picky - if it'll hold still long enough for them to take a bite, they'll try it.

Sorry for the long winded answer 😅.

As a side note, curiosity got the better of me and I dug up the nest where I found this little one. Nests are usually 8"-12" deep, but the deepest eggs in this nest were only 2" under the surface and 3 of 4 had desiccated. I'm guessing this clutch was from one of my younger, inexperienced females since it was so shallow. It's no wonder this little one came out - it was nowhere near deep enough to make it through the winter, and it's amazing that it hatched at all!
 
viper69
NMTs said:
Unfortunately, if I hadn't found this little one it would almost certainly have died over the winter. I would estimate that 10% or less of the hatchlings that emerge in the fall survive the first winter.

I don't bring any of my turtles in for the winter - I let them all (including hatchlings) burrow and brumate outdoors, because it can be difficult to get them to do it again if they've experienced a winter indoors. Gets their biological clocks all screwed up, I guess. As I tell people, you can always bring an outdoor turtle inside, but you can almost never transition an indoor turtle to living exclusively outdoors. That said, I will put this little one in my growout area and encourage it to burrow. Should that not work, I'll put it in a temporary enclosure and insulate it, then put it in a cool, dark place for the winter (my shed). I've done this artifical brumation successfully before, but it's always a last resort and sometimes they still don't make it.

As for feeding, I won't offer any food to it until spring. It is still using up the nutrients delivered from the yolk, and all it needs to survive now is a little water (interesting fact, they can absorb water through their anus, so when brumating in a nest/burrow, they can stay hydrated without actually drinking). They aren't even interested in eating when they are this newly hatched. Once spring rolls around they get protein rich feeders like wax worms, black fly larvae, and meal worms, along with whatever goodies they find in their enclosures (like isopods and roach nymphs). After the first few months of eating I will start offering fruits and veggies, but they're not picky - if it'll hold still long enough for them to take a bite, they'll try it.

Sorry for the long winded answer 😅.

As a side note, curiosity got the better of me and I dug up the nest where I found this little one. Nests are usually 8"-12" deep, but the deepest eggs in this nest were only 2" under the surface and 3 of 4 had desiccated. I'm guessing this clutch was from one of my younger, inexperienced females since it was so shallow. It's no wonder this little one came out - it was nowhere near deep enough to make it through the winter, and it's amazing that it hatched at all!
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True on indoors/outdoors, the same thing exists in other animals regarding over winter. My box was an indoor when I received him, so he lived all year round. Didn't know that about water absorption, clever!

Not long winded at all, you have more experience than myself, and I appreciate the time, and details you take regarding your breeding efforts and their physiology.

I've never seen a box that small. The smallest I saw was a bit larger than a silver dollar!
 

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